image [https://i.imgur.com/dZZLEx7.jpg]
The format of the window for available mandates suggested they served as city-versions of spells or abilities.
I would have fist-pumped the air if the interface hadn’t frozen my world. For a moment, I considered closing my interface and doing a celebratory wiggle in the deep grass of Hawkhurst Meadow. But it would have delayed me from checking out the tier 1 powers.
Wasting no time, I greedily clicked on the first power, Aggression.
Power (mandate)
Aggression (tier 1)
Prerequisites
Settlement level 1
Description
Promotes the agenda of conquering. Citizens deliver double damage within another settlement’s perimeter.
Free with town hall
Battle College—Trains to rank 30 in combat skills
Free item
Metamorphic Siege Hammer
I couldn’t believe the potency behind this bonus. While Yula might beg to differ, conquest wasn’t a founding principle of Hawkhurst. But inflicting double damage made me rethink how to play The Book of Dungeons. Like the military academy at Belden University, the battle college could raise our citizens’ martial skills to rank 30, and it synergized with my special power, Applied Knowledge.
I wouldn’t be the only one benefiting from a battle college. The entire camp could train, giving us a substantial defense boost. The hammer’s name sounded cool, but I didn’t foresee us laying siege to another city.
I quickly clicked on the next power.
Power (mandate)
Construction (tier 1)
Prerequisites
Settlement level 1
Description
Promotes the agenda of building. Citizens deliver twice the rate of construction and resource production within the settlement’s perimeter.
Free with town hall
Cobblestone roads between settlement buildings
Free item
Rod of Command
Now we were talking! I reread the description for limits and exceptions but didn’t find any. This power doubled the food, wood, or whatever natural resources we needed to build things. And if we could trade our surplus, Construction doubled revenues.
In history class, we learned all roads led to Rome, and the empire owed its success to the highways created by its armies. Having streets between buildings seemed like a timesaver.
The Rod of Command improved morale and sped up the workforce. This power arrived in a timely manner since we’d only begun building. Construction made it on the shortlist for things Hawkhurst needed.
But this power didn’t further anyone’s standing in the Great RPG Contest. Getting knocked out knowing that Hawkhurst prospered would be no comfort. But we weren’t far away from settlement level 2, where we might receive another power point. If Construction unlocked a tier 2 mandate related to building, perhaps it meant more custom structures like the battle college.
The following mandate almost stopped my heart.
Power (mandate)
Education (tier 1)
Prerequisites
Settlement level 1
Description
Promotes the agenda of scholarship. Doubles skill acquisition for citizens within the settlement’s perimeter.
Free with town hall
Circulating Library—Alerts public libraries of your library’s presence and comes with 100 random books
Free item
Major Tome of Lost Powers
We have a game-breaker! I couldn’t believe the description. As a Hawkhurst citizen, I could increase my skill acquisition by a factor of six if it stacked with my Applied Knowledge power. And whatever bonuses a Major Tome of Lost Powers offered—I wanted it.
I groaned inwardly, wondering which of us deserved these mandate items. Should it go to Charitybelle since she became the governor? Was I underhanded enough to convince her to give it to me, or could this be a bribe situation where I could trade it for my gold?
Collaborating with other players created conflicts of interest regarding magic items, creating awkward relationships. Did the worm’s loot wholly belong to me? I’d killed it with dynamite that Fabulosa spotted—and we all cleared the goblin mine together. Was it enough that I’d already offered to help fund Hawkhurst? What claim did Fabulosa have from helping me harvest it?
And I did not know what to expect from the 100 random books. What does that mean? Should I expect the flowery, illuminated manuscripts that Mr. Fergus complained about or rare books of substance filled with crucial information? What if they contained bestiaries, histories of forgotten secrets, or an atlas of dungeons or lost treasure? What if this mandate gave us access to the game’s namesake, The Book of Dungeons?
Stolen story; please report.
The circulating library’s announcement of its existence to other libraries worried me. This feature might draw curious and wizened scholars like Mr. Fergus, but it might attract the players I feared most—intelligent, knowledge-seekers. Its connectivity to other libraries acted as a drawback, not an attraction.
And if other contestants arrived to delve into its knowledge, would I be able to hide the books?
I glimpsed at the contest interface. “Number of contestants—50.” Nothing had changed since I’d last checked a few days ago. The last players knocked out had been Tardee and his crew.
When I reflected on the camp’s obstacles, enemy players numbered among the most dangerous. The ward worm presented a relentless onslaught of carnage, but the world boss attacked mindlessly. Players could exploit the creature’s predictability. Opponents with a quarter million dollars on the line drew upon greed, creativity, and gaming experience. Humans were patient and sneaky.
I could only guess what adventures occupied the other contestants while we unloaded carts to build a prefab roundhouse. As enthralling as the Education mandate promised to be, uncorking this genie gave me severe reservations.
I moved to the next possibility.
Power (mandate)
Expansion (tier 1)
Prerequisites
Settlement level 1
Description
Promotes the agenda of area control. Doubles the settlement’s radius and visibility range. Once per day, for one hour, the running speed of citizens doubles within the settlement’s perimeter.
Free with town hall
Forward Outpost—Provides a sanctuary for citizens abroad
Free item
Trackless Moccasins
This power reminded me to learn more about settlements and buildings. How big were they, and how would I know if I fell within its boundaries? And what did it mean by a visibility range?
My interface listed Hawkhurst as my location. The description let me know if I fell within or outside settlement borders. The map showed the extent of Hawkhurst’s boundaries as a circle surrounding our flagpole spanning two miles across.
Another circle, four miles in diameter, represented the settlement’s visibility range. Little green and gray dots peppered the outer ring. When I focused on them, notations for friendly bipeds appeared. Each green dot counted as a person who’d bonded their allegiance to Hawkhurst. Two green dots tracked toward the forest, the edge of our visibility range—Yula and Fabulosa going out on patrol.
The gray radar blips represented animals—their captions described them as small or medium quadrupeds.
These interface blips probably came from the seismic bonus from our settlement’s red core. We could detect enemies far outside our normal visibility range. Besides the seismic bonus, the settlement’s core possessed bonuses for bonded and protection traits. I wondered how they would manifest.
Knowing Expansion’s powers made me regret planting the flag so close to the water’s edge. Hawkhurst lost half of its visibility and area of influence to the lake. But we’d already spent the red core, so it was too late to change.
Since I had a basic understanding of our settlement’s size, Expansion gave tactical implications. Choosing this mandate doubled both the circles’ radii and our running speed within the perimeter. That gave us significant defensive advantages. We’d be able to attack and move, kiting anyone inside our area of control—and that applied to enemy gamers.
I mentally thanked Charitybelle for talking us into starting a settlement. Some of these perks appeared unbalanced and unpredictable, giving us an edge in the battle royale. I doubted other contestants filled the world with towns, let alone one founded with a red core, so only we had access to these juicy perks. It made me wonder what mandates the more populated cities had unlocked. For the first time, it benefited me that The Book of Dungeons didn’t reveal its powers beforehand.
The Trackless Moccasins raised their wearer inches over surfaces, including water, and details of Expansion’s bonus building, the forward outpost, intrigued me. Choosing this mandate gave us a free outpost anywhere we wanted, and I located its description in the build interface.
The build interface included a list of generic buildings, including their details, prerequisites, and material costs. It listed watchtowers as the only building we could erect outside Hawkhurst’s boundaries. Watchtowers upgraded to guard towers—and guard towers upgraded to outposts. The same menu grayed-out outposts and guard towers, showing their inaccessibility. We needed other buildings as prerequisites.
Having a free outpost bypassed these requirements, making the trek from Basilborough to Hawkhurst infinitely safer for caravans. The building’s description implied it to be more self-sufficient than a watchtower. An outpost offered a secure place for merchants and staff and promoted the trade route. Since this building came at no cost to the settlement, it lifted the burden of gathering materials and the hassles of construction. The idea of dragging building components halfway to Basilborough and erecting a structure under the threat of animal, goblin, kobold, and monster attacks didn’t appeal to me.
The pragmatic benefits made me believe Charitybelle would want this mandate.
I had high hopes for the next power—Fortification.
Power (mandate)
Fortification (tier 1)
Prerequisites
Settlement level 1
Description
Promotes the agenda of defense. Doubles the structural points of buildings and armor value of its citizens within the settlement’s perimeter.
Free with town hall
Castle Golem – smashes enemies to bits and pieces
Free item
Crossbow of Home Defense
In all my research, I have never read about a castle golem, but I wanted one. Castle golems didn’t appear on the settlement’s list of available buildings, implying a rarity. It might patrol the perimeter, haul heavy items, or even fetch water from the river. The game might limit its wander range, but who cared? It was a castle golem!
A Crossbow of Home Defense delivered missiles for +30 damage at the range of sight, but it only worked on home turf. I would happily let Charitybelle have the weapon if it meant a castle golem smashing enemies to bits and pieces.
The matter of doubling armor and structural points of buildings might impress structural engineers, but reading the power’s description didn’t knock me out of my socks. Being tough on one’s home turf simplified many strategies, but it also limited our potential. None of us relied on our armor, and we had no buildings worth protecting. I wished this mandate would have been cooler, but if Fabulosa and Charitybelle outvoted me, I’d be happy to soldier on with a trusty castle golem by my side.
I turned my attention to the settlement’s last option.
Power (mandate)
Negotiation (tier 1)
Prerequisites
Settlement level 1
Description
Promotes the agenda of commerce. Doubles willpower of citizens.
Free with town hall
Market of Wondrous Things–Attracts purveyors of rare and magical wares.
Free item
Ring of Appraisal
Negotiation affected my highest attribute, willpower, possibly creating a broken bonus. But if the game used diminishing returns, this mandate could result in a bust. Willpower shortened debuffs, lowered damage from primal spells, and resisted mind effects, but watering down the opponent’s magic wasn’t the most dependable strategy.
Willpower affected influence, which might help boost morale and make Hawkhurst’s citizens formidable merchants at home and abroad. But would it push the needle in the great scheme of things? I wasn’t sure. That’s the problem with willpower—its bearing on a player’s performance seemed a little wish-washy compared to the other stats.
Charitybelle and Greenie might have arguments for this mandate, but I preferred something more concrete and proactive.
A Market of Wondrous Things appealed to me, especially since I had thousands of gold burning a hole in my pocket. If Hawkhurst became profitable, this could be the gift that kept on giving if it attracted sellers of big-ticket magic items. I relished having first dibs on anything cool in the market, but too many unknowns clouded the outcome.
Powers like these made me conscious of attracting too much attention. We didn’t need other players coming here. However, the strategy of attracting gold-laden opponents could work if we knocked them out of the game, taking all their loot. Establishing a honey trap for players had a pejorative gaming term—camping. Camping opponents struck me as a humorous way to accrue wealth, but many considered the strategy unsporting, and it had the potential to backfire.
Regardless of the ethics, drawing opponents toward us conflicted with moving to the wilderness. If we wanted to stir up a hornet nest, it would have been more sensible to stay in Belden or any other high-traffic municipality.
The Ring of Appraisal gave 30 influence to NPCs within the settlement’s borders. It offered a sensible boost for morale and governing, but Negotiation seemed too speculative and passive for our needs.